Morning roundup: The younger the better for Packers

Nov. 20, 2012

Written by

The young Packers defensive backs are growing up so fast and playing so well that Cliff Christl and Eric Baranczyk were prompted to wonder in their weekly post-game analysis whether the Packers even miss the injured Charles Woodson.

"The Packers don’t miss Woodson in coverage," Christl and Baranczyk wrote (http://tinyurl.com/cqfcgza). "In fact, they might even be better off without him."

That was part of a larger point that the NFL is a young man's game and almost invariably a team is better off going with a younger player than an older one.

Along those lines, Christl and Baranczyk quoted from former Giants General Manager George Young and something he said 25 years ago:

"We're a 20-year-old business and not a 30-year-old business. Twenty-year-olds make better soldiers than 30-year-olds. It's the same thing that the Marine Corps learned a long time ago. The best soldier is between 18 and 26 -- except for quarterback where maturity is important. This is a physical game and a Spartan-like game, and it also has to do with economics. People who are hungrier make better soldiers than people who aren't."

Worth reading

*The Packers are sticking with kicker Mason Crosby, for now. Rob Demovsky reported that the Packers have not brought in any kickers on a tryout basis, and coach Mike McCarthy staunchly defended Crosby during his press conference Monday. (http://tinyurl.com/csy2guk)

“Mason Crosby is my kicker, so we can just stop it right here,” McCarthy said.

*Although James Starks rushed the ball 25 times against the Detroit Lions Sunday and Alex Green had zero carries, it appears the Packers haven't given up on trying to share the load at the running back position. (http://tinyurl.com/cvlcogp)

"Alex Green not getting carries was a poor performance by myself managing how we were running the ball," said McCarthy. "We’ll continue forward working both James and Alex and get those guys ready in our preparation for the Giants.”